Thing # 12 - To comment or not to comment

What is the point of a blog if we receive no comments? Are we just writing to ourselves? These are the messages I kept getting from the various articles appearing under item #12. So I think that one of the most important point is that the blog is intended to create communication, knowledge transfer. Having grown up in a family of very private people, myself included, a blog is a drastic deviation from my norms. Can be stressful to publish to the "world". In time, maybe this phobia of having my identity stolen will subside.

Another point that is reiterated in the readings is that comments have to be meaningful and polite. Reminds me of people talking on the cell phone loudly in public places airing their personal problems, conversations, etc. as if the people around them were made of stone and could not hear. When commenting to a post, even if we disagree or want to share a different point of view, we need to share it in a responsible and polite manner. Refrain from commenting, if this will cause us to be rude.

I know someone in New York City working for a major financial institution and part of this person's responsibility is to surf for blogs on people they interview. I was told some of the candidates have actually not been hired because of their blog contents. Blogs are two-edge swords. We can reflect positively or negatively in them. Thus the importance of the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting.

www.brownbaron.com/blog/2007/07/17/the-ten-commandments-of-blog-commenting/